The full name of this bridge is
The John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge. Roebling of course is the man who went
on to build the Brooklyn Bridge. Roebling , in August of 1856, signed a contract
for the project. Work was stopped when winter arrived, and then the panic of
1857 plus the start of the Civil War caused construction to be stopped. In
1863 work was spurred on by the need to erect a pontoon bridge to
transport Union troops defending Kentucky. On September 4, 1865, a footbridge
was completed so that workers could begin to string the cable.
On December 1, 1866, the Suspension Bridge
Was opened to pedestrians, In the first two days more than 120,000 people paid
the three cents toll to cross the bridge. On New Years Day 1867 the bridge was
officially opened to vehicles. In 1896 a second set of cables were added along
with a wider roadway, streetcar rails, and electric lights, this work
effectively doubled its carrying capacity.
During the flood of 1937 this bridge was
the only crossing along 800 miles of the Ohio River.
When opened the Suspension Bridge was the longest in the world,
today it would rank as being the 100th longest.
Covington Kentucky's streets were built in a direct line with
Cincinnati's streets but one of the restrictions on the Suspension Bridge was
that the streets could not be directly linked to each other. This apparently was
for legal issues that would arise if slaves were to use the bridge if escaping.
The Ohio charter for the Suspension Bridge specifically forbade slaves from
crossing the bridge without written or verbal permission from their owners. The
bridge company would be held accountable in court to the owners for compensation
should their slaves escape using the bridge.
In 1891 streetcars began using the bridge. This necessitated a
major strengthening of the bridge starting in 1895 and ending in 1899.
Not a postcard
Rarely Seen 1800s Image
FIRST TOLL RATES
Foot passengers, one trip: 3 cents
100 trips on foot, (coupon tickets): 1 1/4 cents each
Horse & cart: 10 cents
Horse & carriage: 15 cents
2 horses & carriage: 20 cents
4 horses & carriage: 30 cents
6 horses & carriage: 40 cents
Horses, mules and cattle: 10 cents each
Hogs: 2 cents each
Sheep: 1 cent each
20th CENTURY RATES
CAPACITY
CASH
25 TICKETS
Coupe
10
cents
$1.88
Less than 1/2
Ton
& Passengers
Cars
15
cents
$2.82
1/2 to 7/8
Tons
20
cents
$3.75
1 to 1 7/8
Tons
25
cents
$4.69
2 to 2 7/8
Tons
30
cents
$5.63
3 to 4 1/2
Tons
50
cents
$9.38
5 to 9 1/2
Tons
75
cents
$14.07
The toll booths were removed November 25, 1963, ( the same time the Brent Spence opened). It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 15, 1975.
Real photo shows flood stage, retouched does not.
The next two rows show views of the Covington, Kentucky side of the Ohio River.
Very rare postcard view from the Licking River
Very early private mailing
card
